The Curious Case of Ginny's Secret Admirer
by thefanwhoran
Summary: The war is over and the Boy-Who-Lived finally has a reason to let down his guard. But fate is a cruel mistress and now with his lady love being terrorized by a stalker, Harry has to once again be the hero to save the love of his life from the dangerous obsession of a man who just won't quit. Now if only he could figure out who the bastard is. And is everything really as it seems?


The cheery, bright summer sun shining on the gardens of the Burrow, the infamous house of the Weaselys, was in stark contrast to the mood in the drawing room of the ancient house. The current occupants of said room were the famous war heroes- the golden trio (as they had been dubbed by the masses) and Ginny Weasely. Ginny Weasely - the youngest child in the Weasely family, and fiance of the savior of the wizarding world - Harry James Potter. Ginny Weasely - their current topic of discussion or rather her troublesome predicament.

The red headed girl was sitting in a chair clutching the hand of her fiance who was sitting beside her. Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of their age was stroking the girl's back softly, trying to reign in the panic that was threatening to drown the girl. Hermione sighed audibly. She didn't feel bright or the slightest bit intelligent right then.

Harry's eyes were skimming the words written in a thick parchment. The letter screamed elegance and money. But the words written were nowhere near pleasant. They proclaimed undying love and devotion for Ginny while also relaying the sender's belief that she had a horrible taste in men. That the dim witted moron, as Harry had been called, did not deserve her.

Hermione too looked at the vile letter lying so innocently on the table between them. This had been the eleventh letter. _Eleven letters in five months_. They had done everything in their power to determine the identity of the sender. But it had been for naught. The letters and the gifts that had started accompanying them a few months ago were squeaky clean. No trace of magic.

Ron's loud swearing brought Hermione back. "Hermione isn't there any spell or even a _curse_ which can identify that asshole?" he asked for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "Honestly Ron if I had such a spell or a curse, do you think I would have waited for so long to reveal it?" she replied a bit testily. "No identifying spell is going to work if there's no magic. But there's not even a minute fraction of magical evidence anywhere in the letters or the gifts" she continued.

Harry knew he could detect reluctant admiration in her tone. It was unheard of. Every magical human being or even magical creatures leave a trace of magic - trace of their presence, trace of their doings, trace of their very _being_. But here not so much.

But there was something even worse than the hateful letters and gifts. The piercing stare, the menacing presence Ginny felt whenever she ventured outside the safety of his- no _their_ home. As soon as they realized that the missives were not a prank or the harmless admiration of a fan, after all they had fans now, he had asked her to move in with him. They lived at Grimmauld Place now and she had expressed her sincere gratitude as she didn't want her family to worry about her secret admirer. They hadn't told anyone about it. The only people who knew about the disaster were present in the room.

Even Hermione had felt the eyes a couple of times whenever she was with Ginny, be it the open space of Diagon Alley or the closed quarters of the Ministry. She too found the stares disconcerting.

Hermione was also lost in the ordeal of the past few months. Harry and Ginny had tried to keep the matter in between them. But when things had started getting out of control, he had turned to the two people who had had his back ever since he stepped foot in the magical world. Ginny also found solace in the fact that at least one family member of hers was there in this mess with her. Ron and Hermione had jumped into helping their friends. While Hermione had used her considerable brains into finding ways to ascertain the stalker, Harry and Ron too had asked their fellow aurors for help (discreetly of course).

While analysing the letters, Hermione had come across a few quirks that were identifying traits of the sender. His handwriting for starters, it was clean, precise but definitely masculine. But it seemed to change with the mood that letters were written with. Anger, jealousy, amusement- different emotions brought changes to the penmanship. Another one was his refusal to write Ginny's name in his declarations of love. They always started with _My Raging Lioness_ and ended with _Your eternal love_. Initially, because of lack of any names, they did think that the letters were only pranks. But the fact that the owls always found Ginny was telling in itself.

They had even tried to put locator spells and follow the owls that delivered the letters but to no avail. The owls always took confusing paths that led to them easily evading their pursuers.

Harry sighed. Another day of handing over the letters to the aurors and answering questions in the hopes that they would do something. But other than hollow reassurances , the aurors hadn't come up with anything useful. It wasn't because of lack of trying. It was because their enemy was just that smart. He was an enigma, a phantom, a shadow.

Harry sighed. Again. _So much for being the savior._

Hermione was sitting on her bed surrounded by the eleven letters and six gifts in her flat in muggle London. She had requested the aurors to lend her the items so she could do her own research. _Not that they were doing anything_ _particularly_ _useful with them_. Hermione sometimes thought that the aurors were not taking this matter seriously. After all for them, catching dark wizards and rouge Death Eaters was more important than one man's infatuation. _It's not as if he's_ _threatening her or something._ That's what they told Ron when he complained about their incompetence. Well Ginny was her friend and Hermione would do everything in her power to help the poor girl.

That's why she found herself studying the letters and the gifts. And after hours and hours of studying, Hermione had come to one conclusion-

 _Something was not right_.

The letters and gifts, while clearly intended for Ginny, somehow felt wrong for her. Like the sender didn't really know her. After all why would Ginny find _The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music_ , the original German manuscript by Friedrich Nietzsche, interesting or even valuable? It was a priceless artifact in the muggle world, but Ginny wouldn't know that. In fact she wouldn't know the importance of most books other than maybe a book on Quidditch or fashion magazines. It wasn't that she was dumb or something, she was rather smart actually but books and ancient texts weren't her forte.

 _No that's more like you_. A snide voice commented at the back of her head.

Hermione shook her head. No this wasn't about her and she wouldn't make it about her. The situation was bad enough already.

But as she continued looking at the stuff, the feeling of wrongness did not go away. The perfume which had been the second gift, again though expensive, was not right for Ginny. The fragrance made from Indian jasmine, freesia, muguet blossoms, honeysuckle, and pink pepper with creamy vanilla in the base, signified a soft and subtle nature; someone who's never the center of attention, a strong, independent yet sensitive individual. Ginny was many things but subtle she was not. No she was enchanting and her allure was loud, _too loud_ ; demanding attention wherever she went. Besides she was allergic to honeysuckle and she never liked vanilla. When she had brought that up, the others had figured that the sender had simply spied Ginny checking out perfumes in a store in Diagon Alley and had gifted to her what he thought best.

And the letters, even when they were clearly addressed to Ginny, spoke of someone else. Many of the things mentioned didn't match to her personality. The words painted a picture of a girl who had a brilliant mind and a compassionate heart; a warm nature for friends and a vicious streak for enemies; a subtle sensuality and loud innocence. They talked about someone like - someone like -

 _Someone like_ _ **you**_? The mocking voice was back.

 _No that's enough_ , thouhgt Hermione emphatically. Honestly, she was giving herself too much importance. The situation was about Ginny. She had to help Ginny and the first step in that would be to warn everyone regarding the discrepancies she had found. Yes that's exactly what she would do.

Hermione apparated in front of the wards surrounding the Burrow with a sense of urgency. She had received Harry's owl a few hours ago while she was at her parents'. He had asked her to come immediately because another letter had been delivered. This one THE most important he'd said.

"Harry? Ron?" Hermione took in their grim faces, Ginny's utterly horrified one and the presence of a couple of aurors standing beside her, all in one glance. She looked at each of them, asking for an explanation. And in answer, Ron presented her with the latest letter. She noticed his tense posture and figured that whatever was in the letter must have really set him off.

With a glance towards Harry she began reading the letter.

 _ **My Raging Lioness,**_

 _ **It's been so long since I last saw you. What with those dunces you call friends always guarding you like Azkaban prison itself. I hope you liked my last gift. I went to so much trouble to acquire it just for you.**_

 _ **I know you are scared and confused love. But there's nothing to be frightened of, my beauty. I would never hurt you. I just want to give you what's best, what you deserve.**_

 _ **And so I have decided that it's time. Time for us to be united. I know you are ready. I know I am ready. It's time for you to come home to me my love. After you read this letter, it would become a blank parchment. If you truly accept my proposal, just write a Yes on it. And in due time it will lea**_ ** _d_** ** _you to my side, where you were_** ** _always_** ** _meant to be._**

 _ **Eagerly awaiting your arrival with every fiber of my being.**_

 _ **Your eternal love**_

"He wants to meet her?" were the astonished words out of her mouth.

"This is the first time he has ever expressed a desire to reveal himself. This is an opportunity to finally nab him. We should not waste this chance" one of the aurors, Jackson, told her. She saw Harry clench his fists at that.

"Okay so what are you suggesting?" she asked . "That she should meet him", replied Renner, the other auror.

"Absolutely not! She's not bloody well meeting him and especially not for them 'to unite'! Ron bellowed loudly. "Ron calm down. Listen to what they have to say" Ginny chided him softly. Hermione could hear the exhaustion in her voice. The girl was at her wit's end.

"This could be our only chance to catch him. Besides who knows how he would react to her rejection. He may become hostile. Till now he hasn't threatened her or shown any aggression but the bloke's obviously touched in the head, he may take offense to it" Jackson supplied. Hermione knew he was right.

"Guys you know they are right. The only way it can end peacefully for all of us is if we catch him. Merlin knows when we'll get a chance like this. We should not let it go to waste" Hermione tried to convince her friends. She knew they were reluctant to do so. Hell she herself was not very pleased but there was no other option.

After a bit more convincing by Hermione and the aurors, Harry and Ginny finally consented to go ahead with the plan. Ron didn't but he was outvoted and couldn't do anything about it.

Ginny held the quill in her shaking hand, ready to write. Harry was gripping her other hand while the others were standing with their wands at ready in case something fishy happened.

Taking a deep breath, she wrote a neat Yes right in the center of the now blank parchment. After a few seconds, the words glowed with a vibrant light before disappearing all together. When nothing happened even after a few moments, everybody started to relax.

After waiting for another ten minutes they concluded nothing was going to happen.

"Well he did say 'in due time' didn't he?" Renner was as helpful as ever.

Turned out that the due time came in about a week's time. A week after Ginny wrote on the parchment, they noticed something words being written on the it — directions. Direction to their rendezvous.

'So the bastard wanted to reveal himself. He was so arrogant and sure of himself that he had asked her to take whatever she wanted with her and come to him permanently. He thought no one would stop. Well he had another thing coming', Harry thought viciously.

 _He won't even know what hit him_.

Hermione didn't know how she had allowed her friends and the aurors to talk her into accepting this plan. She didn't like it. Not one bit.

She didn't understand how it had come to this - her preparing for the meeting with the yet unknown stalker. She remembered all the reasons that made her agree to it; the aurors' logical arguments, Harry and Ron's pleading, and Ginny's flat refusal to let her go. Ginny was scared for her. Harry and Ron thought she was better than the both of them in handling tough situations. And the aurors were dismissive of her fears saying they would always be near her thanks to the enchanted object on her.

Hermione didn't even get a chance to tell them about her findings.

 _Oh well you are a big girl Granger and a Gryffindor_. Time to act like it. She had to do this. For Ginny. And like the aurors said, they and Harry would be near her always. And if everything else fails, well then she had her wand, and she was not shy about using it – in defense and offense.

Taking the vial of polyjuice potion in hand, she looked expectantly at Ginny who was shaking beside Ron. She looked at Hermione with a pleasing expression and a warning in her eyes – _don't go_. She squared her shoulders and nodded at Ginny who plucked out a strand of her with a dejected sigh and dropped it in the vial which she drank quickly lest she be stopped by anyone.

After the change was complete and she was in Ginny's skin, she was wearing the communication device – a tiny butterfly clip enabled with GPS and a microphone. It was unostentatious and innocuous - looking and no one would suspect it as anything else other than a hair accessory. Especially not a pureblood wizard as they were suspecting him to be.

It was a absolute nightmare to get the device work with so much magic around. Magic and muggle technology didn't get along. Hermione and Jackson had spent copious hours to achieve that.

With one last look at her friends and a nod to the aurors, she dissaparated to the coordinates specified on the parchment.

Hermione appeared in a abandoned country side building. It was completely run-down and dilapidated. She had wand ready in one hand to hex anyone who appeared and the parchment in another. She looked around and found no one. A simple _Homenum Revelio_ confirmed that the building was indeed empty. After a few moments of looking around, she was about to tell Harry and the others about her location via the microphone when the parchment again began to glow with new words being written.

 _ **Welcome my love. Like a true lioness you came alone just as I asked. Thank you for that. Just a few steps more my love and then we'll be together.**_

Hermione frowned. Few steps more? Before she could dwell on it too much writing again appeared on the parchment. This time it was a map with directions.

After a good ten minutes of ascertaining puzzling directions and vague locations and travelling via a portkey finally she came to a magnificent hallway leasing to a large sitting room. She walked inside cautiously with her wand held in her right hand. She surveyed the surroundings for anything suspicious. Just before entering the room she talked to Harry and the others with whispered words.

"Harry do you hear me?" "Yes Hermione I hear you. The GPS indicates you have stopped. Have you reached your destination?" came the prompt and loud response in her earpiece, hidden by her hair.

"Yeah I think so. The parchment is not giving any new information" she replied.

"Good the GPS points your location to somewhere in Stirling, Scotland. We'll be there as soon as we pinpoint the exact location" he spoke in a breathless manner.

"Okay. Good. Just don't come barging in until I give you the signal" she reminded him. And with that she proceeded inside the room. As soon as she stepped inside the room she felt a tingle roving over her body. It was an elegant room, decorated lavishly in Victorian style. However she had no time to take in all that as she spotted a hooded figure sitting in a large stuffed chair right in the middle of the room. She let out an involuntary gasp and the figure looked up but it's face was still shrouded in darkness so she couldn't see who it was.

"You are here. I can't believe you are finally here. With me" she could hear the triumph in his voice.

"Yes I'm here. Just as you asked. So now you tell me who are you?" she replied with a confidence she wasn't feeling.

"My my impatient aren't we? But I suppose I have kept in the dark for longer than necessary. You must be going crazy trying to figure out this puzzle." She gritted her teeth at the smugness in his tone.

She was one second away from losing her cool when suddenly he stepped into the light and lowered his hood. Ginny's blue eyes, superimposed over Hermione's at the moment, widened comically as her pretty lips parted to let out one word, _**"Zabini?"**_

The incredulity behind that uttered name showcased her utter disbelief over the identity of the man standing before her. The man who had made her friends' life a nightmare for the past si months. Undoubtedly it was him even though she was having a hard time believing it herself. In her earpiece she could hear Ginny's gasp of horror, Ron's loud curse and Harry's impatient question reconfirming the man's name.

But all of that was lost on Hermione. Alarm bells started ringing in her ears when a feral grin broke out on his handsome face. He let out a chuckle and spoke in a velvety voice, "Why hello to you too _**Granger**_."

Her eyes widened even further and she took a step back in disbelief. Seeing her distress he chuckled some more. "What you that ginger facade was going to fool _me_? I know it's you Granger. I've always known it would be you. It had to be. My plan was just that good", he spoke with a self satisfied smirk.

She could hear several shouts and screams from her earpiece and she knew he was saying something too but she couldn't hear anything beyond the blood rushing in her ears. Panic was threatening to overwhelm her. Only one thought registered in her brain – _I have to get out of here_.

She whipped out her wand to apparate but found she couldn't. "Don't be silly Princess. You think I'll let you just breeze out of here after I went through all the trouble to bring you here?" this time his voice came from somewhere close to her.

She took several steps away from him and tried to calm herself as best as she could. With her only escape being cut off, she knew she had to rely on her considerable brains to get herself out of this situation or at least stall him long enough until Harry could arrive. She had to keep him busy.

Before she could utter a single word, he suddenly had his wand pointed at her and she was drenched in bucket full of water. Spluttering, she was unable to do anything as she was hit hit with a spell which she realized was a simple drying spell. And right before his eyes she transformed into the Hermione Granger the world knew.

"Ah that's much better. Couldn't stomach Weaselette's ghastly ginger hair and freckles any longer" he said eying her appreciatively.

"Why are you doing this Zabini? What do you really want?" she asked to buy time.

"I thought it would be abundantly clear by now Granger. You. I want you. Always have."

His answer gave her an abrupt pause. "Me? B- but the letters, the gifts..." she trailed off. He scoffed, "Come on Granger. I know you are smarter than this. I know you suspected foul play. I mean you can't really believe that all those were meant for the Weaselette. Can you?" She could. Ginny was smart, beautiful, strong- willed and independent. Any wizard would be infatuated with her. She, on the other hand, was plain and brilliant enough to scare any wizard away.

She couldn't comprehend what Zabini was saying. "But why would you send her those letters if they were meant for me?" She was now feeling the same terror that had gripped Ginny in it's clutches for so long.

"Hermione", he purred, "come now. Apply those brains I know you have. Tell me how much did the aurors help you the her case? Did they even take it seriously? Even though she's Potter's squeeze. But imagine if the situation was different. If it was you or Merlin forbid one of those two idiots. I imagine that would be a different case. Not only the aurors, the whole bloody Ministry would be at your feet offering assistance. I couldn't risk that. Everyone on my case. So I came up with this ingenious plan. I have to admit I never thought it would go so well." Again that self- satisfied smirk.

Hermione knew he was right. Ginny and countless others who fought in the war for the Light side never got the recognition from the masses that they deserved. And the Ministry too didn't want to recognize too many 'heroes'. He was right. It was an ingenious plan. What pissed her off was that it was used on her.

"Oh I get it. It wouldn't have been believable if it was me being stalked. But if it's someone like Ginny everyone would believe it" she said angrily. He looked at her incredulously, "Seriously Granger I just told you it was all for you. Everything was for you. I don't care what everyone thinks about the Weaselette. Everyone else can go screw themselves. It's only us I'm concerned with."

She threw her hands up in frustration. "But why me? Why the sudden infatuation with me. You never even looked at me in school. No one did. No one does" she whispered the last part.

"Granger do you get off on blowing your self esteem to pieces?" When she glared at him he continued, "You talk about the Weaselette and other beautiful girls. But who would look at her, at them, when you are right there? _Right there_. Do you have any idea just how many boys in our year wanted to get into your pants? And then the Death Eaters, they all wanted a taste of Potter's bushy mudblood. But they are never going to even touch you as long as I am here. I'll keep you all to myself. _All_ _mine_.

Hermione felt sick hearing his words. She couldn't take it anymore. She took out her wand and watched with increasing desperation as it failed to produce a single hex, jinx, curse, anything. Tears gathered in her eyes and a sob tore through her throat as he nonchalantly walked towards her, invading her personal space. "Harry!" she screamed in her microphone, no longer caring about maintaining his secrecy. All she wanted was to get out of here.

"Hermione", he screamed back, "where are you? We're in the building." And she watched, hope blossoming in her chest, as Harry and the aurors stepped through the hallway. But she frowned when they merely looked about the room, their eyes sweeping over her and the vile man beside her as if they weren't there. Then she heard Jackson say, "There's nothing here. Where are they? Are you sure it's the right location? "

"Yes! It is the right location", Harry thundered. "Hermione where are you?" his voice rose in frustration. "Harry I'm right in front of you. I can see you. Please."

But even as she watched them struggling to find her, she could feel the amusement radiating off her companion. He let out a sarcastic laugh as he watched them. "Such morons. And you expected them to be your saviors? Oh my darling Hermione, no one's rescuing you tonight. No one's taking you away from me. Ever." His words were underlaid with a dark promise and she couldn't help but shiver in revulsion.

"Time to go home Granger", he said as he stepped forward and took her by the waist. Now she began screaming and struggling in earnest. "Harry! Harry! Harry help me please. Harry! Ron!" all the while struggling to get out of Zabini's hold. She could hear all of them screaming obscenities at Zabini in her ear – her friends and the aurors. But no one could do anything. "Say goodbye to your friends Granger."

A wandless spell from him rendered her immobile in his arms. As they apparated, the wards separating them fell just long enough for her to see Harry's horrified green eyes watching her before she disappeared forever.

They landed in a regal living room, Hermione still in Zabini's arms. He put her on a plush couch and faced her mutinous glare. "You think you can get away with this Zabini? Harry has seen you. It won't be long before they catch you."

"Oh yeah? And how will they capture me if they don't even know me?" his words perplexed her to no end. Seeing the confusion on her face he waved a hand over himself and she stared in shock as his features began to shift. It wasn't until his black hair took an unnaturally pale shade of blonde that she realize just who it was who had kidnapped her.

Draco Malfoy stood before her in all his glory. The twisted smirk on his face infuriated her to no end. "What the hell is going on Malfoy? Is this some kind of sick joke to you, you psycho?"

"This is no joke Hermione. This is your future for the rest of your life if I have any say in it." Horrified, she could only say, "You're crazy Malfoy". "It's Draco. And you don't know just _how_ crazy I am."

And with that he picked her up and went to his bedroom where he spent the night making sure she knew how utterly crazy he was for her and to drive home the fact that she was his. Later at night when he was in bed with her, exhausted and satiated, he reflected on how well his plans had gone because the witch the was finally in his home, in his bed, in his arms, by his side, where she will stay for the rest of her days.

Thousands of miles away, three distraught friends sat grieving over the disappearance of their best friend. The wizarding world outside was none wiser that a war heroin had been kidnapped. The only lead they had turned out to be a dead end. When aurors had stormed the Zabini Mansion in Italy with the intent of arresting Blaise Zabini and rescuing Hermione, they were in for the shock of their life. His relatives informed that Blaise was incapable of doing whatever they were accusing him of. A stray spell from a rouge Death Eater had taken away his ability to do anything. He was confined to bed and dependent on them for even the simplest of tasks. On Harry's insistence, healers appointed by the Ministry had performed tests on him and all had come to the same conclusion - it wasn't Blaise Zabini who had kidnapped Hermione Granger. The Zabinis had also assured that no outsider could have entered Blaise's room to pick up sample for polyjuice because blood wards had been set up on his room.

And now Harry and his friends had no hope of getting back their brilliant friend. They didn't know who it was who had taken her. He had completely failed at protecting her. And now Hermione would pay the price. Forever.

Fin.


End file.
